Projectile having tear gas or dust as one of their components have been used for some time. Such devices, however, have employed explosive charges or thermal means to disperse the irritants. These dispersing means can cause severe injury to personnel and property.
In the present invention the projectile is armed upon firing from a gun and is activated upon impact to disperse tear gas. However, there is no detonation, no fragmentation, and no high temperature generation so that there is no fire hazard and no high speed flying fragments are produced. If accidentally dropped while being loaded, the projectile will not discharge its contents.
One of the features of the present invention is the mechanical safety means which "arms" the projectile only when it is fired from a gun or mortar.
Another feature of the invention is the manner in which the tear gas formulation is ejected from the container by an inert, cold, propellant gas.